What Went Wrong: Modern News Media
Remember the good old days of news media? Because I certainly don’t.
Remember the media before they were telling us we are going to die in a nuclear attack? Back when they told us we were at war in the middle east… err, lets go further back in time. Before the nuclear threats of the cold war, before the Korean war, before the threats of Germany attacking with V1 rockets, before the Great War, before the… ah fuck it.
Media these days seems to be so different than it was in the past. Yet its overall essence hasn’t changed much over the years, only how it is delivered. In this article I will touch on a few points about how the modern news media has changed and in later articles break down the ways they deliver it. My goal is not to be too repetitive as I am sure many have made similar reviews and opinions previously. That said, in this article I will briefly give an overview for those who may not be as familiar with the subject. I hope you enjoy!
With today’s modern technology and so many outlets out there to choose from you will notice huge emphasis on swooshy graphics and 3D animation. Half the time you aren’t sure if you are watching CSI or the news. In fact, most of the times it seems as if the news is almost a trailer for the actual news it is portraying. Let alone if you dare switch over to the sports channels, where there’s more graphical overlays and statistics than in video games. I don’t normally know if the point is for the real news to look like the games or the games to look like the news.
These pull you in more and keep you captive because everybody must be paid, and modern news media is no different. Although with advertisers come conditions, and because of this news outlets may have to reconsider airing certain stories that may piss off their advertisers. It creates a hostage situation where advertisers can hold stories hostage and exchange it for less prominent coverage while damage control is conducted.
Unless a news outlet is owned by the government like the CBC or BBC, there is a situation where serious liability and risk come in to play, which some outlets have little appetite for. Most private companies hate the fact that there are news outlets that are funded by the government and use a lot of their time and resources to wage wars against them in the hope they will shut down.
Regardless of how the media outlets are funded, it is interesting to note that modern media will always be biased and will usually follow a narrative. It’s important not to forget that the same channel that produces your news may also be making shitty reality shows. That’s not to say there’s a conspiracy but rather that these channels are in it for the money. Without money, the channels can’t compete with rivals; the overall quality of programming decreases; and they will eventually pack up and leave to try something more edgy.
Cue up the crime reports to get everybody’s hair raised. Crime is widely aired on TV primarily due to its cinematic nature. It’s vividly shown so frequently that it usually starts to make you believe that you live in a cartel-infested prison colony. It’s just a lot more engaging for us to watch what’s happening nearby, instead of thinking about it in the grand scheme of things.
That’s why some people may ask why there isn’t a positive news channel only (I would argue morning shows are that) and that it all comes down to how interesting they would be (not in the least). Dreadful and horrific occurrences turn more eyes to the mainstream media than charitable deeds do.
One little factoid to really take in from modern news is that they are all inherently liberal, regardless of how right-wing they may seem. Freedom of the press and free speech are primarily considered to be politically left of the spectrum. This gives left wing press outlets the ability to brag about how educated and filthy rich they are while ensuring that nobody poor ever understands what the hell they are talking about. It gives right wing press outlets a chance to fund their Mussolini reanimation projects while screaming about how the left-wing media wants more government-funded subsidies for their Audis.
In the end, the modern news media have not changed their operations but perhaps have merely made it even more confusing to understand what’s happening in the world. You are better off staring at the tea leaves at the bottom of your glass and figuring out events that way.
